Tag Archives: calypso

Only a complete ignoramus! Or the kind of blindness that will not see! Tell me, how could even one person in Trinidad and Tobago actually entertain the thought that Aldwyn “Kitchener” Roberts might have been capable of such an abomination? Oh, what a country! In the days when Guy Harewood …

Emceeing the Revue Calypso Tent’s show in 1972, night after night, the Mighty Stalin introduced Kelvin Pope in the same way: “So, ladies and gentlemen, here without further ado is that four-king four-cup four car Duke.” Famously, of course, over the four years immediately preceding ’72, the Mighty Duke had …

“[…] We don’t see here as part of Trinidad. We see here [as] a diseased part that we wish would go away. I tell people if your left kidney is cancerous and you ignore it, it will kill you. “If you focus on the parts of your body that are …

“What shit you talking, bro?” Bobby asked, his jaw literally dropping. “We talking bout the same song?” Even before Calypso Fiesta, I had shared Soul of Calypso with my pardna on WhatsApp. We both agreed then that it was not the “hit calypso” Machel would have us believe it is. …

And the 2024 Calypso Monarch crown goes to: Argentina’s Lionel Messi! Who mother can’t believe that one, eh? Well, actually the TUCO judges had to confine their choice by geography—and, in particular, the 12 calypsonians who crossed the Queen’s Park Savannah stage with mic in hand last night. So, instead, …

I’ve been on a Scrunter loop, studying lyrics, music, the melodies, the distinctive raspiness of his voice—and it made me want to pay tribute to this one of our outstanding West Indians. I’d interviewed him way back in 1998, and the article said much of what I wanted to say …

Is greatness, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? The question is broached in a not-very-good Calypso History Month piece penned by Debbie Jacob in a recent Newsday article under the headline: ‘My top ten calypsoes’. Alas, she offers no answer. “When it comes to narrowing down all the …

“[…] In musical terms, T&T punches well above its geographic and demographic weight. Many artistes have brought great poetic, musical and lyrical richness to the global table—but none of them brings the feels like David Rudder. “[…] You’ll not find more deftly written words to describe a particular sexy woman …

In hindsight, it was a rather selfish column, so wrapped up in my woebegone mood that it might actually have been unfair. Not long after David Rudder migrated to Canada, I had written of the enormous loss to our country’s psyche. My distress came from the abiding feeling that for …

Coming out of the Covid-induced hiatus, our 2023 Carnival is touted as the “Mother of All Carnivals”. We promote our fetes as the best ever and discuss ways of monetising our 2023 Carnival’s impact. We believe that we could export this wonder of the world. Amid this noise, a lawsuit …

It is one of those rare occasions when every praise song being sung is true. Not one word has been misspent—generous, gentle, erudite, kind, gracious, pioneering—it is easy to endorse them sincerely. Since his passing, Gordon Rohlehr has invoked the kind of gratitude and love that truly befits the colossal …

“[…] Black Stalin was one of our region’s finest masters of calypso. Both his lyrics and his melodies expertly captured the rhythm and vibe and voice of the Caribbean. “He was acutely conscious of our shared history, culture, passions and concerns and expressed them in his songs in a way …